Grave of the Greenbrier Ghost

Sam Black Church, West Virginia

Erasmus Stribbling Trout Shue, who was called Trout, eloped with Elva Zona Heaster, who was called Zona, and settled in Greenbrier County. The marriage was not popular with Zona's mom, Mary. Trout had been married twice before, and his second wife had died when he accidentally, so he said, dropped a brick on her head.

On January 23, 1897, after only a few months of marriage, Zona, who was only 20, was found dead as well. Trout was very protective of Zona's body, but no one thought much of it until a few days later, when Mary was visited by her daughter's ghost! Spectral Zona told Mary that Trout had been angry that she hadn't cooked meat for supper and had strangled her.

Mary told the local authorities, and they had Zona's body dug up. Her neck was found broken and her windpipe crushed. A jury took only an hour to send Trout to prison for the rest of his life, which lasted only three more years.

Zona was reburied in her grave, and at some later date it was marked with a tombstone identifying her as the "Greenbrier Ghost." Despite its rural location, the stone is a popular attraction and is often covered with offerings of pebbles and flowers.